is the 9th day of search marketing history

Happy Frediversary

There were strong signs that a Google algorithm ranking update was underway in 2017, which actually began on March 7.

It appeared to be an update to the spam algorithm that was related to links. A later Search Engine Land analysis by Fred revealed that the update was targeted at low-value content websites that place revenue above helping users. Many affected sites also saw a drop in traffic of up to 90%.

Many called this the Fred Update. This was a joke from Gary Illyes at Google who suggested that all updates should be named “Fred.” That suggestion stuck with this update.

Fred was not confirmed by Illyes until SMX West, March 23. He said that the update focused on specific techniques that were well-documented in the Google webmaster guidelines. Although he did not specify which guidelines were specifically targeted by the Fred update,

You can read about it in A new, unconfirmed Google rank update ‘Fred’ shakes the SEO world.

This day, too


Google search personalization: Professors and politicians don’t get

2022: Google explains how search works. It is a complex process that we know a lot about. However, a professor was confused about search personalization.


Google Hotel Search showing free listings in Results

2021 – Google opened up more hotel options by providing free hotel listings.


Google My Business informs businesses that have been affected by the coronavirus, to update listings

2020: Update your business hours, description and phone number, and add Google Posts.


Google users also ask about boxes not appearing as often now.

2020: RankRanger stated that people are also asking for 40% of the queries. This is down from 52%.


Google Search shows YouTube Music links for album queries

2020 The link was visible on mobile in the “Listen” carousel for streaming music services. On desktop it was displayed in the album’s knowledge panels in a list listing streaming services.


Reddit’s new “Trending Takeover” ad unit allows brands to appear at the top of the Popular feed and Search tab

2020: This ad unit was created to align brands with the most relevant and popular trends of the day and had a campaign duration of 24 hours.


Video by Fili Wiese. An SEO who used to work in Google Search Quality

2020 Many topics were covered, including Google penalties and how Google penalizes websites. Also, there was discussion about the disavow tool and nofollow attribute.


Google My Business now adds the ‘women-led” icon and attribute to business listings.

2018 Once the attribute has been added, a “women led” icon will appear under the business attributes section.


Google shows answers to questions under the ‘people also ask’ feature

2018 Google tested showing a snippet below the query, instead of showing you additional questions about the query.


Search with Pics: Craig Newmark from Google, Snow in NYC office & Women at Google cupcake

2018 These are the most recent images that show what people eat at search engine companies, their play habits, where they go, and what toys they own.


Google has added emoji & GIF suggestion, translations & other features to GBoard Android

2017: Android Users have access to GIF suggestions and emoji as they type, and the ability to share GIFs with supported apps.


RIP Google PageRank Score: An introspective look at how it destroyed the web

2016 Although Google will remove PageRank scores publically in the coming weeks, it is still clear that those scores have significantly shaped the web.


Google launches massive migrations of blogspot.com blogs to googleblog.com

2016 This is to make it clear that these blogs were maintained and operated by Google.


Google offers a new way to plan your trip for mobile users

2016 A mobile-based search for a country, continent, or state with the words “destination” and “vacation” would return a variety of travel options.


Google May Flag Broken Security Certificates in Search Results

2015: Google’s Gary Illyes stated that Google was looking at ways to increase the ranking of secure login pages more than the HTTPS ranking boost.


EU Settlement Nearly Completed, Google Antitrust Drama Shifts to India

2014 The Competition Commission of India was able to impose a maximum of 10% per year on revenues that had been averaged over three years.


Bad Merchant? Google may drop your rankings later this year

2013 Google did not want low-quality experience sellers to rank in search results.


“Trulia Suggestions” Search Results without Searching

2013 – Trulia suggesteds used a variety of data from users’ interactions to create personalized home recommendations.


Pew Report: 63% View Personalized Search as Bad; 73% Consider It Privacy Invasion

2012: Personalized search was a Google feature for more than two years, and a Bing feature for just over one year.


Search In Pics: Google Fish, Yahoo 17th Birthday & Googlighting Tie

2012: These are the most recent images that show what people eat at search engine companies, their play habits, who they talk to, and what toys they own.


Federal Appeals Court Allows Keyword Bidding On Competitor’s Names

2011 California Federal Court ruled that it was allowed to bid on the name of a competitor for search ads.


Microsoft AdCenter Intros Quality score That Models Google’s

2011, Microsoft stated that scores didn’t directly affect how ads are ranked. It was more a reflection on how the ads performed in the market.


Blekko Blocks More “Spam” Domains: 1.1 Million Of Them

2011: Search engine used a new system called “AdSpam.”


Twitter Awareness at 92%, but Use Only A Small Fraction of That

2011: Research indicated that the majority of Americans knew about Twitter… but they weren’t using it.


Search Technology Behind iPad Magazine Zite

2011 The iPad app uses the same search and machine-learning capabilities that Worio developed to create a personalized magazine. It gets “smarter” every time you use it.


Twitter gets its own URL shortener to stop scams. Good marketers need not fear

2010 Twitter: We can intercept and stop the spread of harmful links on Twitter by routing all links that are submitted through this service.


New MSN In Beta, Driving Nearly 50% Of Bing Queries

2010: Microsoft officially launched its improved MSN portal.


Math Engines – For multiplying mixed fractions, it’s Wolfram Alpha over Google & Bing

2010: Wolfram Alpha was useful in multiplication of fractions.


Google Image Search Adds an “Exact Size” Advanced Search Option

2009: Google Image Search added the option to the advanced page to specify the image size you want.


Google Searching For Energy Solutions because “It’s the Right Thing to Do”

2009 “It is also good for us because we are in the information business.” Many energy solutions require a lot of information


California State Legislator Wants to Limit Information on Maps To Block Terrorists

2009: Satellite photos of schools, religious places, government buildings, and medical facilities would have to be blurred.


Former Yahoo Engineer Accused Of Being A Terrorist In India

2009 He is alleged to have been the “media chief”, of the Indian Mujahideen terror group, which was charged with the September 2008 attacks in Delhi.


Stealth Tour of Google Audio’s Dallas Office

2007 Documenting an Undercover Tour of a Google Office in Dallas, Texas. This appeared to be the new Google Audio Group home.


Google Wants to Remove “Mount Hitler” From Google Maps

2007: Google Germany referred to this as a “technical accident”.


Bill Bliss, former chief of Microsoft Search, discusses early search mistakes

2007 “Microsoft would have bought Inktomi or Overture rather than Yahoo. The world would have been very different for both of these companies.”


My Yahoo Launches Revamped amid Intensifying Competition

2007 There have been many improvements and upgrades.


Nokia Jumps into Mobile Ads with “Nokia Ad Service”, Program

2007 Plus a Nokia Advertising Connector (white label) for those who wish to run mobile advertising programs.


UFO Crawler – The Truth is Out There & Searchable

2007: IBM partnered with Yahoo to create UFOCrawler. This search engine helps you find sources about “UFO Sightings”, time travel conspiracy theories, and other anomalies.

Search Marketing Expo ( , SMX).

Past contributions by Search Engine Land’s Subject matter Experts (SMEs).

These columns represent a snapshot of time. They have not been updated since publication, except where noted. These articles do not reflect Search Engine Land’s views.

< March 8 | Search Marketing History | March 10 >

The post This Day in Search Marketing History: March 9 was first published on Search Engine Land.

Tagged

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *